


Words Washed Away

by DoodleyNoodley



Series: I need to stop with the soulmate aus [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Didn't know what to warn for, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, background Keyleth/Vex'ahlia, probably will add more later., so that'll be updated when it becomes clearer, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-03 04:38:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8696860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoodleyNoodley/pseuds/DoodleyNoodley
Summary: Vax knows he'll never find his soulmate, after all, they died five years before the formation of Vox Machina, and when Percy, whose soulmate has abandoned him, joins the group, Vax sees a chance to have something he thought he never would be able to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Help, I've fallen and I can't get up. Not like I particularly want to. So I've joined a new fandom, and, as always, I've wiped my grubby soulmate au fingers all over it. Enjoy!

Vax’ildan had a childhood connection like any other, exchanging charcoal and ink drawings and notes with his soulmate since he knew what it meant. They practically grew up together, they communicated so often.

 

Vex’ahlia had also gotten to know his soulmate, almost as well as Vax himself, taking joy in reading the foreign lines on her brother’s body every time she was able to hold him down long enough to do so. It would amuse Vax when he woke in the morning to see lines of conversation on his skin that he hadn't left there, Vex taking a stick of charcoal to him as he slept.

 

As they got older, Vax’s soulmate discovered a love for tinkering and experimenting, Vax’s arms being covered in diagrams and plans with scrawled notes that explained each one to him. He replied with notes on making the designs look more awesome, oftentimes in trade for necessary effects. Vax would also jokingly attempt to commission daggers from his soulmate, verbally wanting awesome daggers that did cool stuff, internally just wishing for something his soulmate’s clever fingers had created just for him.

 

Vax enjoyed scribbling doodles to his soulmate, of anything that caught his eye, silly stick figures of the people he saw in the town he lived in with his mother, then demeaning caricatures of his tutors and father’s court when he was sent to Syngorn, to careful portraits of Vex. None were all that good, but Vax and his soulmate would laugh at them together, and that was what made it really worth it.

 

When Vax and Vex left Syngorn, and Vax started his career as a rogue, he'd detail his progress on his arms, keeping his soulmate up to date. His soulmate, in kind, ranted on about politics in some land he'd never heard of, about younger siblings and older siblings, and how often their parents would force them out of their workshop to socialize with guests.

 

“I think my soulmate is nobility.” Vax confided to Vex one night.

 

“Good for you. Go to sleep.” She replied grumpily.

 

“Do you think that'll make them easier to find?” He continued, ignoring her.

 

She threw a pillow at him.

 

After that, they made it a game, guessing what each other’s soulmates would be like, never asking outright though. That would be cheating.

 

…

 

When Vax was twenty-two, and his soulmate twenty, something happened, something bad.

 

Vax didn't know the details but he did notice the words that showed up on his arm, letters big and sloppy, note looking rushed and seeming to have been painted in blood.

 

‘I'm going to die here. I'm sorry.’

 

Vax freaked, using three whole pots of ink in his drive to receive answers, to make sure his soulmate was alright. Vex had tried to calm him, but couldn't.

 

Vax didn't receive an answer, the worrying words themselves smudging away in a matter of hours, as if they'd been washed off his soulmate’s arm.

 

He refused to accept the implications for weeks, refreshing the words of concern on his body every time they faded. There wasn't a reply, not even a drop of ink that was not from his own hand. After six months, reality set in. He broke down in Vex’s arms, mourning the life he'd never know face-to-face.

 

It took Vax a while to wean himself off constant message writing. It wasn't healthy talking to a dead person. After two years, he left his final message.

 

‘I miss you, but I have to move on. I won't be writing again. Good bye.’

 

…

 

Five years passed, and Vax and Vex found themselves in Stillben, doing mercenary work with an odd collection of individuals. It was when Grog got stuck with a lich phylactery in his chest and they had to set out on a quest to save him, that they met the gunslinger Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III, or Percy, as his name was quite the mouthful.

 

Vax took a keen interest in the man, often times wandering into his orbit as they went looking for a nymph to retrieve a heart from. At about the sixth time, Percy sighed.

 

“You don't have to guard me, you know. I won't turn on your friends.” He sounded defeated.

 

“I'm not.” Vax laughed. “Just curious about the newest addition to SHIT.”

 

“Shit?” He arched an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, man!” Scanlan interceded. “It stands for Super High-Intensity Team!”

 

“How… colorful.” Percy remarked.

 

“We’re thinking of changing it to something more professional.” Keyleth rolled her eyes.

 

“Aw, Kiki, don't be a spoil sport!” Vex grinned. “I think the name is fitting.”

 

“I think Keyleth has a point.” Pike spoke up softly. “But I also think we have more important things to focus on right now.”

 

Her tiny hand went to rub Grog’s massive forearm reassuringly. He gently patted her head in kind.

 

“Of course.” Vax smiled. “We won't let you die, Big Guy.”

 

“Oh, um, I do believe that we're here!” Tiberius called from the front of the group.

 

…

 

Leaving Grog to… sort out the final details of the transaction with the nymph, the group settled outside the sanctuary. Vax sauntered over to Percy, who was taking the time to methodically clean one of his guns.

 

“So, Percival,” Vax started, peering down at the human.

 

“Percy is fine.”

 

“Alright, Percy. What's your story? Didn't have much time for a full ‘show and tell’ when we sprung you from jail.” Vax asked, crouching down to be level with the gunslinger.

 

“I want revenge.” Percy responded shortly, spinning the cylinder of his gun out to show Vax. On five of the chambers were inscribed names.

 

“What'd they do?” Vax replied curiously.

 

Percy looked him over, staring intently at his face and posture, as if evaluating his trustworthiness.

 

“They killed my family and took our land.” Percy finally answered, pushing the gun’s cylinder firmly back into place.

 

“Oh.” Vax frowned. “I'm sorry.”

 

“Didn't have anything to do with you.” Percy said curtly.

 

“Doesn't mean I can't empathize.” Vax shook his head.

 

Percy squinted at him, confusion flitted across his face.

 

“Vex and I have a revenge mission of our own.” Vax offered. “A dragon destroyed our town, killed our mother.”

 

“I…can empathize with you as well.” Vax was rewarded with a small, shy smile.

 

Vax patted his shoulder, squeezing it slightly, before a cry of delight brought them back to the present. Grog had returned successful.

 

“Nice talk.” Vax nodded, patting Percy one last time before standing up and traipsing back to the bulk of the group, leaving a stunned, red faced, Percy in his wake.

 

Vax didn't have another chance to really speak with Percy until Emon was saved.

 

…

 

Joy was abundant in the air as the townsfolk celebrated their accomplishment. Vax crept towards the edges of the merry scene, only escaping due to his sister’s squeal of happiness then distraction by the jubilant words appearing on her body. Vax felt hollow. His fingers itched to inscribe words on his own skin, but the knowledge that there would be no strokes in return halted the desire as soon as it wormed its way to the forefront of his thoughts.

 

In his slinking, he came across Percy, sitting at a table, a quill held delicately in his left hand, right forearm bared to the air, sleeve pushed up to his elbow. Vax’s gut twisted at the sight. So Percy had a soulmate. ‘Of course he does’, Vax chastised himself, ‘and I bet they're very much in love. No room for you.’

 

In an almost masochistic manner, Vax continued to watch the scene, frowning in confusion when Percy, in what seemed to be a burst of anger, threw the quill across the table, skin free of any marks. It was as Percy was burying his face in his hands that Vax approached.

 

“Lovers spat?” Vax questioned, smiling privately at the way the man jumped at his presence.

 

“Something like that.” Percy growled, the frustration directed inward, as opposed to at Vax.

 

“They're your soulmate. I'm sure you'll make up.” His smile was forced and thin.

 

“I haven't written a word to them in five years.” Percy admitted to his palms.

 

“Five years?!” Vax reeled back. “What- why?!”

 

“I fucked up. Well, first my family was slaughtered, then I blacked out two years, then, when I finally come to my senses, it's to a message saying they want to cut contact. Forever.” Percy’s hands shook as he carded them through his hair.

 

“Well that wasn't your fault.” Vax reassured, sitting on the bench next to Percy.

 

“Of course it is!” Percy protested explosively. “Can you even imagine?! Your soulmate, someone you've known for years, just… stops one day. No explanation, nothing. I did what they asked, never replied again, but we almost died. Multiple times. And I just thought, that this was my chance. I would gather my courage, try to patch things up, but I'm a coward. Such a coward.”

 

The two sat in an awkward silence, Vax not quite knowing how to reply, and Percy thoroughly cursing himself for revealing so much to a tentative friend.

 

“What about you?” Percy finally broke the silence. “What's your soulmate like?”

 

“My soulmate was amazing.” Vax smiled sadly. “They were creative, and witty, and got along with Vex, they were everything I could have wanted.”

 

“Was?” Percy prompted softly.

 

“Yeah, my soulmate died five years ago.” Vax revealed, feeling it was a fair trade after what Percy had told him.

 

Percy’s eyes went wide, mouth gaping a bit.

 

“I-I am so sorry for bringing any of this up. You must think me such an ass.” Percy groaned.

 

Vax chuckled.

 

“It's fine.” He shook his head. “You didn't know. I only think you half an ass.”

 

Percy laughed, and for a moment, Vax was stunned. Percy’s laugh was stunning and bright and cute and lit up his whole face. It felt as if a pit had been created in Vax’s stomach.

 

Vex had always told him he developed feelings for someone way too quickly.

 

…

 

When he was little, Percy never expected there would come a time when his soulmate wanted nothing to do with him. They had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, his one confidant in the tumultuous world of politics. Then the Briarwoods happened, and he lost all of his family, and slipped into a waking coma for two whole years.

 

He awoke to the devastating words on his arm; ‘I miss you, but I have to move on. I won't be writing again. Good bye.’

 

It took all that he had to not start throwing things-or bawling.

 

‘It's what you deserve, Percy.’ He told himself. ‘You abandoned them for two years.’

 

He was lucky to have seen the message at all, to be warned of the rejection and anger waiting if he tried to reach out again after what he'd done, after what the Briarwoods had caused.

 

Fury reignited, Percy redoubled his efforts to track down the elusive Dr. Anna Ripley.

 

Which ended with him tortured and in jail. Ah, Tuesdays.

 

It took him a handful of days, but he was able to coax a group of adventurers into setting him free, on the condition he help save their friend from the lich trying to birth itself from his chest.

 

A few days with them, and Percy knew he would not want to leave.

 

It was the fiery Vex’ahlia who first drew his attention, admittedly. Something about her felt familiar, but not quite right. Though after a gushing rant about the adorableness of her soulmate, Percy backed off, knowing his feelings had been leaning more towards brotherly than romantic anyways. Then it was Vax’ildan, the rogue that disappeared into his sister’s shadow along with the more literal ones. 

 

Percy’s heart had skipped a beat when Vax had actually sat down and listened to him, providing an olive branch when Percy nearly burnt the whole damn tree down with hasty words. But he understood, a bit. Vax knew what it felt like to lose a loved one, knew what it felt like to thirst for revenge. But he still had Vex, while Percy had no one.

 

They tripped head over heels into problem after problem, solving what had to be every single personal problem of every person in the fifth of Emon they had explored. Percy was exhausted by the festivities being held, retreating to a quiet corner in favor of socialization. His mother would have been disappointed. A thought struck him then. It had been three years, why not try and contact his soulmate?

 

In the end, he couldn't gather enough courage to draw a dot.

 

Vax sat with him, traded stories and sorrows, smiled at him, joked and laughed with him, and Percy may have fallen a bit in love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have to thank everyone who left such sweet reviews, honestly, they've brightened my day each time I received one, so thank you so so so much. And a note; I must apologize, because my discription of Percy's gun last chapter was completely off. I described a revolver, not realizing the type of gun he uses is a pepperbox, which is a completely different thing. So, in the future, I while describe a pepperbox instead, which will add some inconsistency here. Just thought I should give you guys a heads up. Also, I finally learned how to use italics! Yay! Thank you everyone who is reading this! Onto the story!

In the depths of the Underdark, crouching off to one side of their practically nonexistent fire, and placed in the odd position of being the third point to a triangle composed also of a small, pissed off, halfling, and a creepy, vaguely hostile, mindflayer; Vax watched grumpily as the rest of the party coalesced around the pathetic flame. Percy was tinkering with something, probably an arrow for Vex-and didn't that thought make him want to punch something-and he'd distractedly waved Vax off when he'd tried to sit next to him and engage in conversation. Why did Vex need a new arrow? She had pretty much an unending amount, something that awed Vax every day.

 

Maybe he was sulking. Maybe. Probably. He just didn't like how close Percy was getting to his sister, that was normal right? They were twins, and all the other had, and dammit, couldn't Vex just stick with her soulmate and not take Percy too!? So maybe it wasn't all overprotective fury, there could be some jealousy in there too, which made him feel guilty, because they were both consenting adults, and Vex deserved happiness much more than he did. Overall, his mood was dark.

 

In his sulking, he didn't notice the presence beside him until a warm weight was set on his shoulder. Vax blinked, containing the instinct to yelp in surprise. Glancing over, Vax was pleased to see Percy had sat down next to him, gripping his shoulder to notify him of his presence.

 

“I'm sorry Vax, for earlier, I got caught up in my work and brushed you off. Was there something you wished to discuss?” Percy smiled softly at him.

 

“Oh it was nothing important. Just wanted to know what you were making, didn't expect to be treated like some annoyance, but it's fine.” Vax joked, elbowing him lightly.

 

Percy’s face fell. “Oh, Vax! I am so sorry! I didn't mean it like that, I promise. I just… well, was working on something and got out of touch.”

 

“It's alright, Percival.” Vax laughed, only slightly self-deprecatingly. “I was only joking. Making something special for someone special?”

 

“I- possibly.” Percy’s face went red, and Vax’s smile became strained. “I was just working on a design I was given long, long ago. Stupid really, to still be tinkering for an old friend I've fallen out of touch with.”

 

“Oh!” Vax’s eyes widened. “I thought you were working on something for my sister.”

 

“She is a very special woman.” Percy nodded. “But I do believe she is quite happy already with the grapple arrow I made for her a few days ago.”

 

“She really is special.” Vax affirmed. “Which is why I hope she's happy, even if I don't always approve of the person it's with.”

 

“That's nice.” Percy smiled again. “I wish I still had that.”

 

The two sat in silence, brooding over their own problems.

 

“Has she found her soulmate yet? Vex, I mean.” Percy inquired, finally.

 

“No, not yet. But they're close.” Vax said. “She's never been one to restrict her romantic relations to her soulmate, though.”

 

Percy visibly thought this piece of information over, fiddling absently with his glasses.

 

“What about you?” Percy bit his lip. “Are you ‘one to restrict your romantic relations to your soulmate’?”

 

Vax was slightly startled, but answered honestly. “Once, yes. When they were still alive, I was so in love with them that I never even pictured myself with anyone else.”

 

“And now?” Percy pressed.

 

“Now, I've learned that love can still develop after your other half is gone. That love never occurs only once.” Vax explained.

 

“That's a beautiful idea.” Percy smiled, it was tired and small, but it still made Vax’s heart skip a beat.

 

“Yes.” Vax agreed. “Perhaps there's hope for us after all.”

 

“Perhaps.” The two rested against each other, content in the silence now enveloping them, until both had fallen asleep.

 

Vex had squealed at the sight and forbidden any of the others from waking the two for watch.

 

…

 

Sitting on the shore of a beach that was softly lit by glowing blue mushrooms, the group was waiting for Keyleth’s spirit to return from the scrying she was attempting. Vex was digging through her pockets, looking for something dedicatedly. With a small noise of victory, she extracted a near nonexistent sliver of charcoal.

 

“Really Vex, now?” Vax groaned as she slid the sleeve of her tunic up her arm.

 

Sparing only a moment to stick her tongue out at him, she began scrawling almost illegible letters along her arm. Long ago the twins had come to an agreement that Vax's soulmate being dead didn't mean that Vex shouldn't communicate with hers in front of him. Hours away from a probably life ending battle wasn't exactly the best time to be exchanging messages, though.

 

“I just wanted them to be aware of the situation.” Vex finally replied, finished with her note, which took up most of her forearm. “In case, well, in case we die. They should know as many details as I can convey.”

 

“That's a great idea!” Scanlan grinned brightly, pulling a quill and inkpot from his pockets, then getting started on his own skin. “And done!”

 

Pike held up her arm from where she sat on the other side of the group, whispering in hushed tones with Kima. “Really Scanlan? I'm right here! And, is this a picture of a dick?”

 

“Not just any dick, Baby.” He winked.

 

“Oh, Scanlan! Wash it off!” She protested, but there was laughter in her tone.

 

“Is that how it works?” Tiberius asked, leaning close to Scanlan. “You write something, away it goes, and if you wash it off, it disappears from the other’s skin as well?”

 

“Yup, that's it.” Scanlan nodded. “There are other limitations, names, gender, locations, but that's the gist of it.”

 

“Fascinating.” Tiberius said. “Dragonborns don't have soulmates, something about magic or lineages, its hypothesized.”

 

“Sounds like a bummer.” Scanlan grimaced.

 

“And do you all know who your soulmates are?” He addressed the group as a whole.

 

“Well, mine’s Pike.” Scanlan confirmed, Pike nodding in agreement.

 

“Keyleth and Vex both seem close to theirs, they're always writing on themselves.” Pike added, Vex smiled proudly.

 

“As for mine,” Percy spoke up, “I don't speak with them. We… had a falling out.” Vax was a bit touched that he'd been told the full story.

 

“Something down here is preventing me from contacting Allura, which is disturbing since it isn't affecting you all.” Kima spoke softly.

 

Tiberius spluttered. “You- and Allura?”

 

“Yes, she is my soulmate.” Kima confirmed. “Did she not tell you?”

 

“She was trying to spare his feelings.” Vex interjected.

 

“You knew?” Tiberius looked betrayed.

 

“Everyone but Grog did.” She admitted, Grog looked up at his name.

 

“We still talking ‘bout soulmates?” He asked.

 

“Yes, Grog.” Pike affirmed.

 

“Oh, no one in my herd had one.” He stated before returning to sharpening his axe.

 

“Goliaths don't get them either.” Pike shrugged.

 

 _“Neither do Illithid.”_ Clarota rasped within their minds.

 

“Huh.” Tiberius sat back. “What about you, Vax?”

 

Percy’s focus immediately snapped to him.

 

“Vax’s soulmate-” Vex started, before Vax sighed and interrupted her.

 

“My soulmate is dead.” He revealed. “Can we not talk about it?”

 

The group went silent, Percy reached over and gripped his shoulder, rubbing small circles over the fabric with his thumb.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry to have brought the topic up then.” Tiberius stuttered.

 

“Why does everyone say that?” Vax shook his head. “It's not something I advertise, there's no way anyone could know. Besides, talk about your soulmates all you like, just don't expect me to reciprocate.”

 

Vax refused to glance at his sister, knowing the look he'd find there.

 

“Shouldn't we wake up Keyleth?” He muttered, retreating from the weight of Vex’s stare and the warmth of Percy’s hand.

 

“Yes, of course. How should we go about doing so?” Tiberius jumped on the new topic of conversation.

 

Turns out attempting to slap her awake was… not the best of ideas, and Vax shuddered to think of the druid’s wrath, should she choose to enact it. Keyleth was pretty shook up though, revealing with shaky breath that K’Varn was a beholder, from there panic set in as their mortality seemed to slap them in the face.

 

As the others shouted loudly at each other, Keyleth was staring blankly down at her arm, tears rolling down her face, and woah was Vax not equipped to handle this, resulting in a rushed whisper fight then punching match over which twin would go comfort her. Thankfully for Vax, Vex lost.

 

The two girls huddled together, Vax unable to hear what they were whispering about. Percy came over to him, fists shaking at his side.

 

“You okay?” Vax asked quietly.

 

“Are any of us?” His voice was shaking too.

 

“Good question.” He sighed.

 

“One without a sufficient answer, I suppose.” Percy finished.

 

The two stood silently, only broken from their reverie by a high pitched squeal originating from the girls.

 

In a flurry of limbs Vax was tackled to the floor as Vex collided with his chest, sobbing loudly. Keyleth was excitedly showing off something to Percy, tears streaming down her cheeks as well.

 

“Vax! It's her! It's her, she's mine, she's my soulmate!” Vex blubbered into his shoulder.

 

Vax tried to ignore the pit that seemed to have opened up where his heart should be, instead squeezing his sister close to his chest.

 

“I'm so happy for you.” He murmured into her hair.

 

She pulled away, face flushed, a grin splitting her face, and tear tracks drying on her cheeks.

 

“Well, go get her.” Vax summoned a grin, pressing a kiss to her forehead before pushing her off towards Keyleth.

 

The two women slotted together perfectly, like they'd grown into each other’s angles and curves instead of only now putting the pieces together. Vax’s heart, which had decided to make a reappearance, ached. It was moments like these where Vax would wonder and yearn for the piece of him that had been ripped away. Looking at this scene, Vax felt a distance from his sister that he'd never felt before, she had finally bridged the gap he never would, and from here on out, he would feel like a third wheel.

 

Warmth then darkness swarmed his body as strong hands pulled his unresisting form close, and if he wasn't breathing in waves of the smell of gunpowder, or feeling familiar calluses catch on his clothes as fingers kneaded reassuringly into his back, Vax probably would have struggled. But it was only Percy, and honestly, he felt like, for now, he needed a tether that wasn't Vex. Vax wrapped his arms around the other man desperately, clutching at the fabric of his coat, pressing his face deeper into Percy’s broad shoulder.

 

“I know.” Percy murmured. “I know.”

 

“Dammit, now is not the time for me to be selfish and jealous and-”

 

“And upset for a perfectly justifiable reason.” Percy finished for him. “Especially in such a emotionally charged situation.”

 

“Don't leave me.” Vax whispered into the crook of Percy’s neck.

 

“Never.” Percy reassured, before pulling back. “Now, come along. We have a beholder to defeat.”

 

…

 

In the deep dark of Yug’Voril, this promise was put to the test as Vax made a desperate dash for the carpet hanging above him, and while most of him knew that Percy would not fly off without him, a small part of him had started a mantra of _‘Don't leave me, don't leave me, gods Percy, please, just a little longer…’_

 

A hand clutched his wrist as he launched himself into the air. One smooth tug, and Vax was kneeling on the carpet. Laughing in exhilaration, mania, and relief, Vax threw his arms around Percy’s neck, pulling him in for a sloppy kiss to the cheek.

 

“Let's get out of here, you bastard!” He cackled.

 

Percy shook his head, seeming to break himself from a stupor, before turning the carpet and pushing it to its fastest speed, shooting towards the hole in the ceiling.

 

“Here, take this for a minute.” Percy said, eyes alighting on the Elder Brain below. Vax grabbed the carpet with one hand and Percy’s belt with the other as Percy pulled Bad News from his back and took aim.

 

“Careful, don't fall.” Vax cautioned, tightening his grip on both the carpet and Percy.

 

Percy fired, recoil pushing him backwards a few inches, the bullet burying itself explosively in the brain. Unfortunately, Vax’s daggers all either missed or were stopped by the brain’s telekinetic barrier. The two did manage to successfully pick up the gnomes though, before rocketing out of the temple and across the water, where they landed just as Tiberius finished drawing in the sand. Gripping Vex and Percy’s hands, Vax waited for the magic to rush over him.

 

…

 

Returning home was one of the best things he'd felt in a while (the scratch of stubble beneath his lips and the sight of the rosy blush flooding over proud cheekbones being just barely ahead). Vax wanted to collapse into bed-a _real_ bed-as soon as he could find one.

 

There were long, involved talks before though, about the horn, and what to do with it and Kima, and other probably important things, but Vax was honestly beginning to nod off by the end of it. Finally, their meeting came to a close, releasing all of their members to make their way to bed. Except one. Percy had turned prematurely and was about to start descending the steps into the basement when Vax caught up with him.

 

“No you don't!” Vax scolded, grabbing Percy’s coat. “You need to sleep.”

 

“Vax, I can't sleep. Not after all this.” Percy sighed.

 

“What would help?”

 

Percy blinked, staring down at Vax, confusion written in every line on his face.

 

“Nothing you could give.” He finally settled on.

 

“Is it company?” Vax guessed. “I know I'd be crawling into Vex’s bed right about now if I didn't know she and Keyleth snuck off together.”

 

Percy stood uncomfortably, shifting his weight back and forth, looking as if he was too scared to voice something aloud. So Vax did it for him.

 

“Sleep with me?” Vax whispered, barely daring to hope. “To keep the nightmares at bay?”

 

Percy’s face softened and his posture relaxed. “Alright Vax.”

 

Vax smiled, entwining their fingers and tugging Percy back to his room. They laid curled into each other in the soft bed, legs and arms entangling as the rested, actually rested, for the first time in weeks.


End file.
